Population Biology Commons^™

Yardwork: A Biography Of An Urban Place By Daniel Coleman, Vivian M. Hansen

The Goose

Review of Daniel Coleman's Yardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place.

Analysis Of Temperature And Salinity Effects On Growth And Mortality Of Oysters (Crassostrea Virginica) In Louisiana, Troy Sehlinger

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Salinity (S) and temperature (T) control every facet of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) life cycle, principally reproduction, development, growth, and mortality. Previous studies conducted in in the Breton Sound (BR) and Barataria (BA) estuaries have reported differences in growth and mortality rates between the basins. In the present study, environmental conditions were synchronized to compare growth and mortality rates between basins at similar combinations of T and S. Results indicate that when T and S are the same (synchronized), seasonal oyster growth and mortality rates differ between BR and BA. Seasonal analyses revealed that as salinities increased …

Genetic Diversity In An Invasive Clonal Plant? A Historical And Contemporary Perspective, Elliot D. Weidow

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Introduced populations of Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae) possess extremely low levels of genetic diversity due to severe bottleneck events and clonal reproduction. While populations elsewhere have been well studied, North American populations of E. crassipes remain understudied. We used Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism markers to assess genetic diversity and population structure in North American E. crassipes populations. Patterns of diversity over the past fifty years were analyzed using herbarium specimens. Furthermore, we sampled populations across the Gulf Coast of the United States throughout a year to determine contemporary genetic diversity and assess potential seasonal effects. Genetic diversity was found to be …

Biodiversity And Conservation Study Of The St. Norbert Abbey, De Pere, Wisconsin - 2017 Annual Report, Mikaela Nowak, Mackenzie Hennes, Adam L. Brandt

Student Creative and Scholarly Works

Long term biological studies are rare but incredibly valuable for examining natural phenomena. Data collected over many years or decades allows for analyses of trends that would never be apparent in a single season. The research presented here is for the completion of the first field season in a long term study analyzing biodiversity trends at the St. Norbert Abbey. Using visual searches, live trapping, and trail cameras, the biodiversity and abundance of species was examined. Special emphasis was placed on small mammals, though other species were observed and documented. The goals of this project were to (1) provide preliminary …

Growth Of Pelagic Age-0 Yellow Perch In Relation To Hatch Dates And Water Temperature In North-Central Minnesota Lakes, Ethan Karppinen

Biology Graduate Theses

Exposure to consistent water warming rates and access to abundant populations of edible sized zooplankton affects growth and increases the probability of survival for newly hatched Yellow Perch Perca flavescens. Seven lakes with varying physical characteristics were selected in north-central Minnesota to study abiotic (water temperature) and biotic (zooplankton community and fish growth) progressions during the spring and early summer (April-June). Mean water temperatures from ice-out to 28 June (11.98-14.62 °C) had significant relationships with mean depth (P < 0.01, R? = 0.85), max depth (P < 0.01, R? = 0.73), and total volume (P < 0.01, R2 = 0.54). Hatch periods ranged from 13 to 19 days in 2015 and 13 to 25 days in 2016. Cumulative degree-days (CDD) were used to predict Yellow Perch hatch periods and explain growth. CDD predicted 21-81% of hatch periods in 2015 and 11-50% in 2016. Mean predicted total lengths at 28 June were 19.65-30.41 mm in 2015 and 20.88-28.54 mm in 2016. There was a significant relationship between CDD and predicted total length (R? = 0.62, P < 0.01) to explain differences in Yellow Perch total length while inhabiting the pelagic zone. Observed gape measurements were highly correlated with predicted gapes from the Schael formula (R? = 0.89, P < 0.01) that was used to assess the availability of edible sized zooplankton for age-0 Yellow Perch in each lake. No predator-prey mismatches were found and earlier hatch dates produced age-0 Yellow Perch with greater predicted total lengths in late June on the majority of lakes. This suggests that earlier hatched Yellow perch have an advantage over later hatched Yellow Perch in attaining greater lengths by late June. Our study provides information on a variety of physical and biological progressions in lakes, which may be used for fisheries management practices in the future.

2017 (29th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). The committee’s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. Accidental and casual species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website www.NOUbirds.org. All records mentioned here are available to interested persons at the NOU archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM), Lincoln, NE. Interested parties should contact the current NOU Librarian, whose address can be found …

Analysis Of Hybridization Between Native And Invasive Pupfishes (Cyprinodon), Kristina Ayers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species are detrimental to native species and when hybridization is involved a decrease in biodiversity may result. Cyprinodon variegatus is an invasive species that has caused devastation to several Cyprinodon species through rapid hybridization and genetic introgression. Cyprinodon rubrofluviatilis is native to the Brazos, Wichita and Red Rivers but fish collected between 2006-2012 from the Brazos River expressed intermediate morphological traits suggesting hybridization had occurred. My objective was to investigate if C. variegatus and C. rubrofluviatilis had hybridized in the Brazos River and if so, to determine the extent of introgression. Molecular analysis of specimens collected between 2013-2017 identified …

The Population Ecology And Behavior Of The Cave Salamander, Eurycea Lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822)., Joseph Gavin Bradley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Cave Salamander, Eurycea lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822), is a little-known species, yet a common inhabitant of caves in the eastern United States. Salamanders are often important components of ecological communities and ecosystems, influencing critical processes such as nutrient cycling and community composition through their predation on invertebrates. Cave-dwelling salamanders such as E. lucifuga may thus appreciably influence the relatively simple ecosystems and communities of caves. Any such influence may be particularly important because these habitats and the organisms that reside in them are often of conservation concern. I used non-invasive methods to study the demographics, movements, and habitat selection of …

Grapevine Vein Clearing Virus: Epidemiological Patterns And Construction Of A Clone, Cory Von Keith

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Grapevine vein clearing virus (GVCV) is a recently discovered virus belonging to the Badnavirus genus. Characteristic to its name, the virus is associated with a disease where symptoms manifest as pronounced vein-clearing, resulting in severe berry deformation and vine decline in susceptible grape varieties. Sustainable production of wine is dependent on healthy plants. The associated disease is mainly found in Midwest vineyards. Attempts were made in this thesis to provide evidence of causality of the virus to the associated disease and to infer the historical path and migration pattern of GVCV. Conclusions and discussions will provide grape producers with the …

Population Modeling For The Reintroduction Of Mexican Gray Wolves As Predators To Decrease The Feral Hog Population In The Southern United States., John H. Kauphusman Iii

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Invasive species are a problem in the United States. As their populations continue to increase in size they disrupt ecological systems. One of the most notorious invasive species is the feral hog. In Texas, the hog populations cause ecological and agricultural damage that costs the state $52 million annually. The reason for the large continuously growing population is that the feral hogs, unlike its relatives in Europe, have no natural predators and hunters cannot suppress the population growth. In Europe, the gray wolf is a predator to the European wild boar. However, wolves in the U.S. have been extirpated from …

Biodiversity And Conservation Study Of Chambers Island, Wisconsin - 2017 Annual Report, Mackenzie Hennes, Mikaela Nowak, Adam L. Brandt

Student Creative and Scholarly Works

Long term biological studies are rare but incredibly valuable for examining natural phenomena. Data collected over many years or decades allows for analyses of trends that would never be apparent in a single season. The research presented here is for the completion of the first field season in a long term study analyzing biodiversity trends on Chambers Island. Using visual searches, live trapping, and trail cameras, the biodiversity and abundance of species was examined. Special emphasis was placed on small mammals, though other species were observed and documented. The goals of this project were to (1) provide preliminary diversity and …

Species Distribution And Conservation Genetics Of The Upland And Midland Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris) In Kentucky, Tucker Cambridge

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The upland (Pseudacris feriarum) and midland (P. triseriata) chorus frogs are closely related cryptic species that are best distinguished genetically. The distribution of these species within the Commonwealth of Kentucky has previously been defined by only a handful of genetic samples, making delineation of range limits for each species difficult. Accurate understanding of species distributions, and the genetic structure within them, are vitally important for conservation management of amphibian species. In this study, I have collected genetic samples from across the putative ranges of P. triseriata and P. feriarum in Kentucky and used next-generation sequencing technology to generate more fine-scale …

Wildlife Translocation, Michael T. Mengak

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Many people enjoy wildlife. It enriches their lives in many ways. Nationwide, Americans spend over $144 billion annually on fishing, hunting, and wildlife-watching activities. However, wildlife is not always welcome in or near homes, buildings, or other property and can cause significant damage or health and safety issues (Figure 1). In one study, 42% of urban residents reported experiencing a wildlife problem during the previous year and more than half of them said their attempts to resolve the problem were unsuccessful. Many people who experience a wildlife conflict prefer to resolve the issue without harming the offending animal. Of the …

Wildlife Carcass Disposal, Stephen M. Vantassel, Mark A. King

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Many wildlife management situations require the disposal of animal carcasses. These can include the lethal removal of wildlife to resolve damage or conflicts, as well as clean-up after mortalities caused by vehicle collisions, disease, oil spills (Figure 1) or other natural disasters. Carcasses must be disposed of properly to protect public sensitivities, the environment, and public health. Improper disposal of carcasses can result in public outrage, site contamination, injury to animals and people, and the attraction of other animals that may lead to wildlife damage issues. Concern over ground water contamination and disease transmission from improper carcass disposal has resulted …

Plants And Their Uses; How Communities Of Tolipir, Pakistan Get Benefit, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz, Mehboob Ul Hassan, Fida Muhammad Khan, Lariab Zahra Faiz, Hina Farooq

Journal of Bioresource Management

The present study documented ethnobotanical uses of 156 plant species belonged to 93 genera and 51 families listed from five villages of Tolipir landscape (Ali Sojhal, Kanchi Kot, Khori Chana, Kahoo Kot and Noor Kot villages). Study revealed that most of the species were used medicinally, leaves found to be the most frequently used part, for preparation of indigenous recipes and fodder purpose. The current study empirically contributes a huge chunk of ethnobotanical knowledge and depicts its strong connection with indigenous traditions. It is an urgent need to document indigenous uses of plants for future domestication.

Impact Of Temperature, Plant Species, And Sorghum Cultivar On The Population Dynamics Of Melanaphis Sacchari, Monique Ferreira De Souza

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari Zehner, is now widely established in sorghum, Sorghum bicolor L., production areas of the United States and is an important economic pest. However, detailed studies of temperature, host range and plant resistance effects on the biology and population parameters of the M. sacchari biotype responsible for the sorghum outbreak in the United States have not been performed previously. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate: 1) How temperatures affect M. sacchari 2) M. sacchari interaction with host plants 3) M. sacchari interaction with sorghum genotypes. The response of M. sacchari to six different constant temperatures (15, …

Effects Of Oil On Mollusk And Crustacean Populations, Behavior, And Predator-Prey Interactions, Elizabeth Marie Robinson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill in April 2010 released ~5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 1,773 km of shoreline was oiled along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, and ~60% of the oiling ended up on Louisiana salt marsh habitat. The objective of this dissertation was to examine the effects of DWH oil on predator-prey relationships between blue crabs and periwinkle snails, as well as mollusk and blue crab population structure. A broad spatial-temporal field study in Barataria and Terrebonne Bays was used to examine the legacy of oil on five species of …

The Private And Free Roaming Street Dog Population In Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, Tamara Kartal, Amit Chaudhari

Stray and Feral Animal Populations Collection

Humane Society International - India (HSI- India) together with Humane Animal Society (HAS) and a team of volunteers conducted two dog population surveys in 100 wards of Coimbatore, India (The 2011 census provides a human population of 10507211; An estimate from 2017 estimates a human population of 18900002). The first was a street dog survey and the other was a household survey of the private (pet) dog population and their owners.

Political Populations Of Large Carnivores, Chris T. Darimont, Paul C. Paquet, Adrian Treves, Kyle A. Artelle

Wildlife Population Management Collection

No abstract provided.

Pearl Oyster (Pinctada Maxima) Resource Allocation Report : Prepared By The Integrated Fisheries Allocation Advisory Committee, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Nou Spring Field Days And Annual Meeting, Ft. Robinson, May 18-20, 2018, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The NOU Annual Meeting and Spring Field Days, organized by Robin Harding, Jan Johnson and Ruth Stearns, was held at Ft. Robinson State Park in Dawes and Sioux Counties on May 18-20, 2018, with 82 in attendance. Our lodgings and meeting room were in reconstructed buildings of the old Fort. The weather was perfect on Friday and Sunday but perfectly awful on Saturday, with rain all day and a high of 44°F. Finding birds and driving on unpaved roads was challenging on Friday, but the total species list for the meeting is 180. Field trips were led by Kathy DeLara, …

Spring Field Report, March - May 2018, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This spring will be remembered for Nebraska’s first unequivocal record of Swainson’s Warbler, unfortunately a “one day wonder”, but well-photographed. Another mega was a Band-tailed Pigeon, Nebraska’s fourth. The old sports saying “wait until next year” was applicable in spades to woodwarblers; last year was noted for its paucity of most species of wood-warblers, but this year, incredible record numbers occurred for several migrant species: Magnolia, Baybreasted, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, and Palm. Other amazing numbers were the 598,000 Sandhill Cranes counted at peak migration in the Central Platte Valley and the 598 Great Egrets reported within the amazing 414 reports. Several …

First Record Of Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna Bicolor) For Nebraska, Matthew T. Haugen

Nebraska Bird Review

On the afternoon of 5 June 2018, I was scouting local Salt Valley lakes to get an estimate of goose numbers for annual Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) banding operations. At approximately 2:30 p.m. I was tallying my goose counts in the northwest corner of Wagon Train Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County, when I noticed four ducks on a nearby vegetated mud flat. After closer examination, I recognized the ducks as Fulvous Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna bicolor). I spent a few years working in Louisiana in that state’s waterfowl program, and I am familiar with the species and its identification. I was …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 86 June 2018 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March - May 2018, by W. Ross Silcock …50-89

NOU Spring Field Days and Annual Meeting at Ft. Robinson, May 18-20, 2018, by Janis Paseka … 89-95

First Record of Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) for Nebraska, by Matt Haugen … 96-98

Subscription and Organization Information … 99

Integrating Species Traits Into Species Pools, Marko J. Spasojevic, Christopher P. Catano, Joseph A. Lamanna

Biology Faculty Research

Despite decades of research on the species‐pool concept and the recent explosion of interest in trait‐based frameworks in ecology and biogeography, surprisingly little is known about how spatial and temporal changes in species‐pool functional diversity (SPFD) influence biodiversity and the processes underlying community assembly. Current trait‐based frameworks focus primarily on community assembly from a static regional species pool, without considering how spatial or temporal variation in SPFD alters the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic assembly processes. Likewise, species‐pool concepts primarily focus on how the number of species in the species pool influences local biodiversity. However, species pools with similar …

Second Annual Survey On Narrowleaf Milkweed (Asclepias Fascicularis) And Western Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) Populations In Pozo, Ca, Emily Rose Hermann, Francis Villablanca

Biological Sciences

The decline in milkweed (Asclepias spp.) populations across the country, due to factors including agricultural development and herbicide use, has lead to a correlated reduction of monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) feeding and breeding habitat. In addition, the intentional planting of non-native milkweed in areas surrounding overwintering habitat has altered Western monarch butterfly migratory behavior, by allowing monarchs to depart from their ancestral migration pattern (timing and location), therefore decreasing the effective population size, and putting monarchs at risk of higher pathogen prevalence, due, in part, to an obligate protozoan parasite that is able to persist on the …

Predicting Critical Transitions In Spatially Distributed Populations With Cubical Homology, Laura Storch, Sarah Day

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Outcome Preferences In Optimizing Heterogenous Disease Control Strategies., Evan Milliken

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

The Temporal And Spatial Dynamics Of Larval Supply, Settlement, And Adult Populations Of Chthamalus Fissus Within The La Jolla, California Rocky Intertidal, Catharine Hargenrader

Theses

The role of post-settlement processes in benthic invertebrate recruitment dynamics has been well established; however, more recently, studies have been resolving the pre-settlement processes and environmental variables that may shape initial settlement. We examined the major space occupying barnacle Chthamalus fissus to determine the spatial and temporal dynamics of settlement in relation to larval supply, adult populations, and habitat characteristics (including elevation as a proxy for immersion, proximity to water’s edge, and the availability of free space) within the La Jolla, CA rocky intertidal. With respect to habitat characteristics, we investigated the influence of available free space on the dynamics …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …